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Apologies for the digression, I agree that law and morality are quite distinct. I just think refusing to use copyleft is unwise on a strategic level. It smells

Apologies for the digression, I agree that law and morality are quite distinct. I just think refusing to use copyleft is unwise on a strategic level. It smells like unilateral disarmament to me. If a warlord is rampaging through the countryside putting villages to the sword, it's not good enough to say, "Hey, I don't agree with stabbing people to death." It's great if you have a plan to stop the pillaging without stabbing anyone, but if you don't, then you need to consider plans that do involve stabbing, or at the very least fielding some stabbers. There may be times when all courses of action involve moral compromise, but inaction always favors the oppressor. Do you have a plan for fighting copyright without using copyright? If yes, then I withdraw my objection. If not, then I ask you to consider whether using copyleft is better than nothing. The oppressive copyright system will continue doing damage without you.

burntsushi 6y ago
I've never claimed to be a good activist. But when it comes to matters like these, when fighting deeply entrenched systems, I think they usually only fix themselves after a massive correction and that correction usually involves a lot of pain and misery. So I settle for education and generally passive resistance. I don't think copyleft on its own is going to fix anything. Otherwise, I just try to behave in a way that is consistent with my ethics, while balancing practical matters. In this case, that means opting out of monopoly copyright interest as much as I can. And can I just say, I really wish it were possible to have discussions about why ought to be without getting dragged into a tangent about how to get there. Like, we've gone from my taking issue with equating laws and ethics all the way to a critique of my weak activism in pursuit of demolishing the IP regime.

burntsushi 6y ago

I've never claimed to be a good activist. But when it comes to matters like these, when fighting deeply entrenched systems, I think they usually only fix themselves after a massive correction and that correction usually involves a lot of pain and misery. So I settle for education and generally passive resistance. I don't think copyleft on its own is going to fix anything. Otherwise, I just try to behave in a way that is consistent with my ethics, while balancing practical matters. In this case, that means opting out of monopoly copyright interest as much as I can. And can I just say, I really wish it were possible to have discussions about why ought to be without getting dragged into a tangent about how to get there. Like, we've gone from my taking issue with equating laws and ethics all the way to a critique of my weak activism in pursuit of demolishing the IP regime.